Review: June Updated Mass Effect Andromeda

That Mass Effect Andromeda Update

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You know every time I see an update coming I think – PLEASE FIX THIS GAME.

As I’ve previously posted about this game I think it’s fantastic and I’ve already finished this 3 times but now slowly working on a 4^th (amongst other games).

Fundamental Issues with this Game

• Animation problems still exist
• Glitches on quests and again animations
• Facial expressions still are poor

These are issues that start from the get go till the very end of the game.  This isn’t something you get to see once every now and then (like forming a relationship with characters) this is fundamental to the game.  It’s also caused it to sell poorly – this means we might be very lucky to get an Andromeda sequel but because of these core issues.

 

Then I saw #MakeJaalBi

I honestly don’t care if characters are bi/straight or even different genders.  I think it’s a great idea to allow people to explore whatever relationship with any character in this game.  BUT I’m sorry to say that these relationships are not fundamentals to the game.  It’s the first thing people fell in love with during the very original Mass Effect 1.  You don’t get to have any kind of relationship till mid stages of any of these games.  The first 30 minutes of Mass Effect was what made it popular.  The presentation, the graphics, the gameplay and the choices.  The latter being the icing on the cake.


Here we are, a company working on something that is the least of its problems.  I’m sorry if people take this personally (because that seems to be the world we live in now) but working on relationships or even sex scenes in Mass Effect Andromeda should not be a priority and really is poor prioritisation on behalf of Bioware.  I’m just waiting for the accusations of homophobia because again that’s the sad pathetic world we seem to live in.  Any negative comments about something that relates in any way to sexual orientation must be homophobia – even though this entire point is down to Bioware making an effort for relationships in a game over core problems that impact from the start to the end.  It’s like writing a book and ignoring poor spelling, grammar, punctuation and huge plot holes but changing a characters sexual orientation..  


The core issues with this game is preventing more sales, that’s more profits, that’s more attraction, players and fans to a popular series.  Instead let’s worry about a small group of people who seem to care about sexual orientations in this game above its core problems.


If Bioware had fixed all it’s more important and crucial problems I’d have absolutely no issue in them updating character options.  And let me also state that Bioware has added more character options….  Again what a waste of time.  People who have already played this would like me – almost be done with it while others are not even going to touch it because -----  CORE PROBLEMS ------.

As many who read/follow me I work in IT.  This means I have to prioritise.  It would be ridiculous for me to put resetting a student password first above our system failing.  It would be me worrying about an untidy cable instead of a server that’s died.  During the NHS Cyber Attack it would be them worrying about an untidy cable instead of entire systems being offline – POOR PRIORITISATION.  It doesn’t matter how you word it or how few would be angry over it.  There’s priorities and Bioware seems to have a major issue with this.  Perhaps the same people who defend this action ask yourself:  Would you prioritise buying a new BluRay Movie or perhaps bills/food?   One is a priority to live – the other is not.


Poor form Bioware poor form.  If this is how updates are going to be I expect this last run of Mass Effect Andromeda could be my last.  Perhaps in the DLC they can concentrate on giving us more relationship options instead of more story, improved animations and fixing glitches.  I mean who cares about all that right?  Just give us more relationships and more character customisation.  Now watch that DLC sell not so well….  People really have forgotten what games require – perhaps that’s why Bioware made a game with core issues they’ve forgotten about what’s important.

 

 

Review: Andromeda Mass Effect

If you want to skip to all the negatives please go down to the bottom of this review.  The flaws in this game are fundamental ones in gaming development, not the story, not the characters and certainly not the amount of content.

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Right.  If it wasn’t for those bad points I would be screaming at the top of my voice “WHAT A GAME”.

Instead it’s still a brilliant game.  The story is very typical Sci Fi which will be enjoyable by so many especially Mass Effect fans.  And yes – huge spoilers coming.

So the story

It’s very Sci-Fi and you certainly get the feeling that not everyone will live.  So the Ark which your character starts on arrives in Andromeda to find the Galaxy in a huge mess.  Not only do you have to deal with a weird space spreading anomaly but you’ve got a species who are hell bent on killing you with no remorse.  The previously arrived people have struggled, split and suffered a lot of deaths.  Morale is low and resources are limited.  It really does look like no one will live.

In your first mission you get a huge feeling that something much more is going on in the story.  Ancient ruins, an unknown race willing to kill and this mysterious AI SAM.  Brilliant.

Each planet has plenty to do and plenty of story, my favourite well.. I won’t go in to detail but it had a nice twist at the end.  In fact there seems to be quite a lot of future plot lines coming with teases and hints.    The impressive part is the lack of plot holes, instead it goes out of its way to show you there is more going on.  You learn one of the reasons why they wanted to send people to Andromeda but there’s a mysterious benefactor.

This is all my kind of story, esque of Babylon 5, Halo, Star Trek but more importantly previous Mass Effect games.  Remember this is Mass Effect.

The Characters

There’s too many to name on good ones, bad ones and the annoying.  The important part though is so many become memorable.  The way the characters develop really separates itself from Mass Effect while still being.. well Mass Effect.  Previously it was easy for me to fall out with them and I would wish I could kill them.  This time around they seem willing to follow you but even when there are moments of discourse they still believe in you.  The rivalry this time around only really exists with one people – The Kett.  I will add this, I didn’t like Liam what so ever.  A strange character to me that seemed out of place.

Music and Graphics.  Keep it simple – brilliant and can’t complain.  Typical Mass Effect.

Content

Beyond amazing? I managed to hit 60+hours and still had some simple tasks to achieve and mining, this game has an unbelievable amount of content.   And the important part is some of it is very relevant to finding out what’s been going on.  You find out more about why you’re out here, you find out what’s happened to the other Arks and why working together is important.  You get to establish bases on several colonies which can only be done by completing a ton of side quests etc.  Which is again fantastic.  While driving around you will find little side quests and tasks that you can complete.  The sad part is? When you’ve got to the end.  I can’t stress how much more I want from this game.

I have to add though, the only sad part about establishing bases – you can’t physically build them.  When you start asking yourself what move could they have added to a game that’s almost a master piece…. We do have something that’s worth the money.  I really hope one day in future Andromeda games they will add this feature.   What more could they have added? This is a good thing to say because I can’t think of anything else.  I’ve read a lot of comments from people who have played 40+ hours and said they did everything but somehow managed to miss obvious quests (not tasks they are a bit harder to locate, not always with a quest marker but random locations of something you found)….  Which to be makes me think did they really complete the game and explore everywhere?  I’ve still got some map locations small areas unexplored..  96% complete I currently sit.

I guess one of the reasons why I am almost in love with this game is how single player has not been neglected (content wise).  It’s a bit like giving us a film with zero story or zero character development.  You’re only in for the explosions and deaths.  This game does not neglect single player story nor does it feel like it was etched on a pizza box.  I will rarely buy a game just for its multiplayer features and find it ludicrous to spend large sums of money on a game like that.  When you look at some of the best most played MP games you look at Counter Strike which was never expensive to buy even in its time.  You got a game just for MP and nothing more.

Now we have finally a game that provides a full single player experience.  And unlike COD/BF games it provides more than 15 hours of game play.

UPDATE

So I’ve done something that I rarely do, I’ve started a fresh game (New+) which grants same money, resources and skills to carry over.  I very rarely go through single players again unless the story really grips me and I find the game fun enough.  And even after playing for just two hours I still that sense of enjoyment and need to complete every task.  For me this is quite a thing because not many games make me feel this way.  Even the original Mass Effect games only got me doing this so I could gain the best ending – nothing more.

97% complete with a 2^nd run over, again a few small tasks to complete.  Even with the carry over stats you can still die, you can quickly find your self overwhelmed and still require cover.  The ending is still satisfying – I find this better than Mass Effect 1 by far in regards to how it ended.  There’s a ton of questions you end up asking yourself.  With the original series it was all about the Reapers – nothing more and nothing less.  This game has been designed knowing there WILL be a sequel and that the story for that is already laid out.

I’d recommend this game though.  In fact it makes me wish this was a TV Series on the quality level of Expanse.  If I was rich..  I’d be funding this TV show in a blink.

Special mention notes:

The story does touch base on Commander Shephard from the Milky way, mentions the reapers and attempts to contact the Milk way.  And the good thing is it doesn’t feel like it’s all rushed like Star Wars Episode 3 in the last 10 minutes in the game.  In fact a lot of the extras you have to work for and do a ton of side quests.

Although this for some is a negative people have mention Halo, how the story is quite similar I’m not going to count it as a negative because I can relate Halo to other Sci-Fi’s that existed before.  I won’t count this as a negative, we are seeing a lot of science fiction shows, games and movies touch base on this – existence before us. In fact the original Mass Effect reminds me of Babylon 5 where ancient technology had been discovered on Mars.  It also reminds me of Total Recall and even Doom (game/movie).  So it goes to show before throwing a tantrum at its Halo similar story remember most stories today are not fresh or brand new (let’s face it, most are struggling to come up with brand new ideas) so instead they take old ideas and make them their own – something which has also been done for a long time.  A lot of story lines come from Mark Twain, you have StarGate, Star Trek which have again all touched base with civilisations that existed before us.   Again I’m sure I have missed a lot of shows and games that have done the same.

Conclusion? I’d buy this game in fact I did and it’s been a long time since I didn’t regret paying money for it.  I’ve gained the hours out of it and in all honesty without saying too much I played this game before I purchased it and if it wasn’t for questionable methods I wouldn’t have spent my hard earned money on it.

A weak 8/10 because of the animation issues and glitches galore otherwise this game would be superb.

Other Reviews

I’ve seen others mention the voice acting? Why? They are performed by above Z Lister celebrities who still work.  Some have come from Game of Thrones, one even came from an actor in Cowboys and Aliens working alongside the likes of Harrison Ford (for far more than 2 minutes of screen).  One worked alongside Jennifer Lawrence in Hunger Games.  These are real actors and actresses who are current earners and not exactly struggling for work.

The Story, The references to Mass Effect.

Why are these negative? No seriously.  What’s so wrong in continuing this story?   I think it’s fantastic when a story continues.  I hope we do get to see what happened more from Earth after the Reaper conflict.  That we do indeed find out if civilisation fully survived after it all (because let’s face it they lived but we don’t know any more than that).

I’d like to know if they give us more on the Reapers? Could they be behind the Kett? Will we see some kind of strong link between the Milky Way and Andromeda?

Probably not but who knows.

I wonder if all the people who hate this game, loved the Mass Effect series? That series had its issues, problems, plot holes and yes glitches (just nowhere near as bad as Andromeda).  People need to be comparing this game to Mass Effect 1 which was the start of story not all 3 put together.  I’m finding those who don’t rate this are angry over the way this game is portrayed 600 years later and we have no idea if our beloved characters from the Mass Effect series are alive (they’re not).  The same ones that complained about the ending are complaining how Andromeda ends?  It ends exactly how it should – no more no less.

Right the BAD STUFF

Four things sum up all the negativity in this game – GLITCHES, ANIMATIONS, FACIAL EXPRESSIONS and the AI

You will find:

Quest Glitches (I found two even after the update)

Animation Glitches (although not a ton now with the update – there’s still quite a few)

Questionable Script moments like you’re playing multiplayer with geeks/dorks instead of professional adult script writers but it’s a tiny issue…

Location Glitches

Random Deaths

Cliff Glitches

Shooting through walls (standard mobs)

Mobs hiding in walls (no joke) and still able to shoot you

Serious animation glitches where heads look like they are possessed

And don’t get me started on the EYES that can’t look at you…

Did I mention glitches? Ugh.. those glitches..  they do hit you…

The animations are a serious issue.. they don’t feel like people… and expressions… when a character looks angry they look constipated..  when they look very annoyed.. they look like normal.. when happy, in love and sad they all look normal.  There is only two expressions Very Angry or very Normal.

The AI is very poor, you will find a random guy just stand still while being shot at.  Another AI randomly move for no reason and don’t start on your own allies who at times get in your way.

If the majority of glitches didn’t exist in this game I can’t stress to you that this would truly be a master piece.  Not only the best game in the Mass Effect series but potentially one of the best games of its kind.  It makes you want more, it makes you want to find those little details and that’s before touching Multiplayer.

The good news is, the glitches are being resolved so if you have not purchased this game yet I’d wait till around JUNE 2017 to purchase it.  Most of them hopefully will be a distant memory.

Review: No Man's SKy - The Update

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An Update review of No Man’s Sky.

I’m going to start off by saying I fully support the NMS being not guilty of miss leading.  Sorry everyone but you created your own hype and look in the mirror to see whose fault it is.

I did read the list that got sent off as “complaints” and let’s have a little look shall we –

·         We saw big dinosaurs in the release video – where are they?

They exist, I know because I’ve seen them.

·         Where is the big water world or the lush green planet?

They exist, I know because I’ve seen them.

·         Factions, What? Where and how?

Again the factions exist and you gain influence on each one.

·         Ship customisation

You do have “customisation” just not on the level you wanted.

·         No animal behaviour

It’s there it’s simply basic, some attack you – some don’t.  Some will run in fear if you go near them while others will ignore you.

·         A trade fleet being attacked

One last time – I’ve seen it.  I once witnessed almost 20 fighters taking on a trade fleet.  Was actually fun to get involved with – got torn apart.

Now that comment is the issue “not on the level you wanted”.  You don’t get to see as many water worlds, lush green planets or giant dinosaurs that are like “wow” as often as you want.  In fact that is the problem.   The systems created in NMS are not as complicated or detailed as people wanted and again that reiterates the “hype train” people dreamed up.

The faction system is very simple and basic.  The dinosaurs, planets and systems all work under an algorithm which although is really good that one system is rarely too similar it creates a possibility that you may never see what you want to see.  And that is where the problem lies because people didn’t see it they immediately thought “it doesn’t exist“ or simply wasn’t complex enough.

The result? You created your own hype train and I have little sympathy.

So the recent update:

On one side I’m hugely disappointed because it feels like they’ve rewritten the algorithm and it’s really noticeable on a lot of small things.  Straight away the scanner doesn’t tell you everything.  You also find certain minerals are rare to find while others don’t exist on a planet.

You will find some really good changes though before I even get to the big one.  Fleet engagements seem to be much more impressive and I’m also witnessing a larger difference in capital ships.  Your own trade ship is a fantastic addition to the storage woes most people were fed-up with.  You will also find it a bit more punishing if you decide to shoot some innocent ships docking in to the space stations.  The scanner now tells you what minerals exists on planets (plus there is quite a few little touches here and there).

Base building – This is simply started off by a quest system.

I’ve got to say if this was released from day 1 we may have seen a lot less crying.  Not only can you build a base, bring NPCs to give you more quests and advice but you also get a huge amount of storage which you can take it all with you somewhere else.  Although you can’t actually carry it once you place those base parts on another planet you will find your NPCs and storage items tucked nicely in the new base.  Lovely.

I’ve barely scratched the surface of this, I only just finished building a wall with gates around my base with 4 NPCs or is it 5.  I’ve got multi levels on a base building which goes quite high but.. it’s becoming a bit of a mess.  Gathering the resources to create the basics is easy, but it’s collecting all the extras that becomes the nightmare.  Plus to earn the schematics for future constructs or material access you’ve got to do more quests.  Which involve traveling to other systems in search of that NPC or resource to take back to your own NPCs.

Another nice touch is the instant travel from the Starbase to your base (your ship will be sent too).  You still find a struggle for holding a lot of resources to support yourself and now with certain minerals being rare it becomes a bit annoying.  You can create a new game which has no survival factor – which to be honest I’m tempted to do just to build and have fun.

I’ve barely scratched the surface

That’s the honest part, there is much more for me to build and learn regarding this update.  Which is a very positive thing.  There’s also a way to gain tons of money in a short easy space of time regarding lubricant.  When I get to that point anyway.

One to watch out for if you have the money – Trade ship Star Destroyer which can be yours.  Okay it looks like Star Destroyer.

So the final note is this really is a very good update.  Remember this is a small team making this and they’ve probably been working on this segment for 8 months if not more.  Give them a break.  You’ve not just purchased a game it appears you’ve also purchased the updates.  Considering how many games give you 20 hours of play time at £40 while still charging £20 for DLC for another 2 hours’ worth of content.  I don’t think people can complain at all about the cost of No Man’s Sky.  This game is not Minecraft which has gain fundamental basics but allows you to build whatever you want – where you want.  In fact Minecraft is now years old and still the content itself from the original game is basic.  It’s the modders and custom servers that have created the majority of content for this game.

I’ll also add that the only thing I still have a problem regarding the team is their lack of information being sent to their customers or twitter followers.  Working in my current job I keep all staff in the loop of any new changes or possible developments.  I’ve even got a list of what changes I want/hope to make in the coming 2-3 years.

Review: FFXV 50 hours

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With the 3 hour review (game time) of FFXV it’s time I did a much more broader review.

https://itsupportns.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/review-3-hours-of-ffxv.html

After having finished the game at around 50 hours with plenty of things to do I find myself no longer playing.  This isn’t really down to the game itself but more like I took a break for Christmas and didn’t get the chance to play it.  I will say this I will find myself willing to play it again at some point probably from scratch.

I can’t stress how much there is to do in this game and even with 50 hours I still had yet finished maxing out so much including fishing/chocobo racing and hunts.  Including that gigantic monster turtle.

I type this up having not touched the game for 2 weeks.  The story was quite satisfying and the characters loveable but there is a slight sour taste in my mouth after the usual Final Fantasy ending.  One thing I can’t stand is the question marks but instead I prefer an ending that shows what the characters all become or got up to later.  One of my favourite endings was actually FF8 during the credit scene where you see the characters not wanting to show their face on camera, be a bit silly etc.

The battles are great fun and the bosses more so, I even explored areas that were above my level and although extremely difficult facing a boss that constantly hits you with status attacks – it was real fun and real achievement feeling.  (although I did burn through a ton of items).

When you travel around by car, chocobo or both you certainly know how massive this world really is.  There’s a lot of open world games at the moment and many of them only feel big because you can’t travel fast.  This game allows you to go by car or chocobo and it really is epic in comparison.

The people feel like real people and as I mentioned in my 3 hour review – the characters with you feel like REAL people and some of their quotes are hilarious.  Some of the tough fights are real tough, some of the easy fights are easy, although the quest system has a question mark on it.. still the game is worth every penny.

This game may not be your favourite but it’s going to be far better than what we’ve had since the likes of 7-10.  This is a classic and will be remembered.  If Square Enix can build upon this game by giving us different kind of content I can stress they may just make a new favourite next time around.  If this game was FF7 with these kind of graphics and battle mechanics, we could well have something special coming our way.  Although FF7 won’t have the same engine it will how ever be very big – it also explains what I’ve tweeted many times that the remake is going ot be BIG.  When you consider how many zones FF7 had.  A single screen background will become a full-fledged 3d environment in typical very good graphics SE style.

FFXV has made me feel much more positive about SE and their handling of FF in general but more importantly FF7 remake.

If you love Final Fantasy games this one is for you, if you enjoy typical RPGs I suggest you try the demo or at least watch how the battle mechanics work.  This isn’t a simple click kill, if you can enjoy these mechanics you will enjoy it.

Conclusion

Puts SE much more updated with FF games and does it very well.  Not perfect but frankly the greatest (questionably) FF games were never perfect.